Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire

On March 23, dozens of Local 79 members joined hundreds of other union members, members of community organizations and elementary school students to commemorate the 115th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. The fire, which occurred in 1911, killed 145 garment workers who were unable to escape the burning factory due to locked exit doors and other unsafe conditions. The fire resulted in a series of laws that improved fire safety standards and working conditions, including limiting the working hours of women and children. Numerous labor leaders and politicians spoke to the crowd, as shirts representing the dead workers lofted in the [...]